People - Music Composition

Alumni - Composition

Selected Alumni Bios

Milosz Jeziorski is a multi-medium composer, who thrives on collaboration with fellow creative minds. His musical oeuvre includes work for film, television, concert, and dance.

Recently, his music was featured in the short film TIGER (2009), by award winning director Wing-Yee Wu, and on the TV show SENOR NUGGET (Gameplay HD, 2008).

In August 2009, he was the orchestrator and conductor on the feature film, CONVICTION; starring Hilary Swank and directed by Tony Goldwyn, with music by Paul Cantelon.

Milosz earned a Masters degree in Film Scoring from NYU, with a Bachelors in Music Composition from Brooklyn College. It has been his honor to study under Deniz Hughes, Dr. Ron Sadoff, Amnon Wolman, Douglas Cohen, George Brunner, and Tolga Tuzun.

Since graduating in 2010, Milosz Jeziorski's film scoring career has gained impressive momentum. In 2011, his score for the experimental feature film, Ontologica!, won the Best Original Score award at VisionFest2011, held at Tribeca Cinemas, NY. Since then, he has worked as lead orchestrator on the ABC film, Firelight, directed by Darnell Martin (Cadillac Records), and recently finished scoring a dark comedy feature starring Emmy winner Tom Pelphrey, directed by Michael Medeiros, Tiger Lily Road (2012).

Stefan Swanson is an award-winning composer for film and concert. He has composed over twenty scores for films spanning all genres. He has also composed over fifty works for the concert hall ranging from solo sonatas to orchestral overtures. His concert music has been performed in New York City (including Lincoln Center), Philadelphia, and throughout New Jersey.

Stefan’s scores for Premature and Cuts (both directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green), are currently broadcasting on both HBO and Cinemax. Currently he is working on Green's feature film Gun Hill Road starring Judy Reyes (Scrubs, Hawthorne) and Esai Morales (NYPD Blue, La Bamba).

Stefan earned his Masters degree in composition at New York University's film scoring program where he studied composition with Ira Newborn (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Naked Gun), and his Bachelors degree from Rowan University in music composition studying with Dr. Harold Oliver. He has also studied with George Tsontakis at the Aspen Music Festival.

He is a recipient of the Scholarship from the Film Music Museum in Los Angeles, the Susan and Ford Schumann Scholarship, as well as a winner of the Harmonium Choral Society’s Composition Contest and the Singing City Composer’s Prize.

Con­rad Winslow's music is char­ac­ter­ized by "har­monic thorni­ness and rhyth­mic vital­ity," accord­ing to the New York Times. He com­posed music for the film The Last Roman­tic (2006), an "IndieWIRE undis­cov­ered gem" avail­able on IFC on demand, and his instru­men­tal music has been per­formed by ensem­bles such as the Amer­i­can Com­posers Orches­tra, the Juil­liard Orches­tra, the NYU Sym­phony, The Guidon­ian Hand trom­bone quar­tet, and ai ensem­ble.

His music has also received awards from The Juil­liard School (2010 Juil­liard Orches­tra Com­pe­ti­tion) and ASCAP (ASCAPlus, Mor­ton Gould). Recent projects include his col­lab­o­ra­tion with Natalie Weiss of exper­i­men­tal art-pop projectUni­cor­ni­copia and ground­break­ing glitch-hop pro­ducer Machine­drum on the musi­cal Camp Wanat­achi, com­mis­sioned by the co-creator of the Blue Man Group.

He is pur­su­ing a Master's degree in Com­po­si­tion from the Juil­liard School, study­ing with Pulitzer and Acad­emy Award-winning com­poser John Corigliano. Con­rad Winslow holds an M.M. degree in film scor­ing from NYU, and an Hon­ors A.B. degree in music from Rollins College.

In 2006, a year following completion of his masters in Film Scoring at NYU Steinhardt in 2005, Myungshoo Shin was nominated for an Emmy award. Mr. Shin is fluent in the diverse languages of classical, jazz, contemporary, electronic and world music. His compositions can be heard in movie theatres, concert halls, and on television in many different countries.

Mr. Shin earned a B.A. in French literature from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and studied piano, jazz, composition, and orchestration and participated as a keyboardist in several rock and jazz bands.

His professional music career began in 1999 as a staff composer at a music production company in Korea. For three years he wrote in a wide range of different music styles. In 2002, he became a freelance composer in Korea. He left Korea and completed his masters in Film Music at NYU Steinhardt. Over the years he has worked on hundreds of TV commercials, composed for feature animated films, and many promotional films. He also co-worked with several talented composers on six feature films, several TV shows and series and on Korean popular songs.

Michael G. Shapiro (M.A., 1994, Music Composition) is a composer living in Los Angeles, where he writes music for film, television, and multimedia. His feature film credits include Home Room (starring Erika Christensen, Busy Phillips, and Victor Garber), which was released theatrically in 2003; and the indy drama All Over Again (starring Robert Loggia and Craig T. Nelson). Michael's music has also appeared on NBC, Fox Broadcasting, and the Travel Channel. He recently recorded a score for the upcoming computer game "Empire Earth II" with an orchestra and chorus in Budapest, and a number of live ethnic instrumental soloists in Hollywood.

Following his studies at NYU, Michael attended the film scoring program at the University of Southern California, participated in the ASCAP Film Scoring Seminar, and studied privately with a number of Hollywood orchestrators. From 1997 to 2002 Michael was audio director for Boston-based Zoesis Studios, where he composed electronic and live symphonic scores for a number of game projects, as well as designed an interactive music system that allows music to mirror the plot twists and character emotions in an interactive story.

You can hear samples of Michael's music at http://mikemusic.com/ Michael misses New York City, but has to admit there's something to be said for subtropical weather.

BRIAN LOWDERMILK (B.M., Music Theory and Composition, 2005) transferred to NYU/Steinhardt Music after his freshman year as a music composition at Harvard University. He was awarded our department's Alan Menken Scholarship in Music Composition during his junior and senior years. In his senior year, he had the extraordinary honor of winning the 2005 Richard Rodgers Award from the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Letters for one of his musicals. The award, which carries a $40,000 prize, is usually given to much older composers. The letter of congratulations from the American Academy of Arts and Letters to Brian was written by one of the members of the selection committee, Stephen Sondheim.

Brian is the recipient of a2006 Jonathan Larson Award and a 2005-2006 Dramatists Guild Fellowship. He is also a member of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop.

With playwright Kait Kerrigan, Brian is writing TheaterworksUSA's adaptation of Henry and Mudge, which will premiere next season at the Off-Broadway, Lucille Lortel Theatre. Their work has been most recently showcased at the 2005 New York Musical Theater Festival, for which they were co-commissioned by the Upright Citizens Brigade and the festival to write Wrong Number.

Other shows include The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, currently under option by a commercial producer, and The Woman Upstairs, seen in the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Patrick Kirst (M.A., Music Composition, 2002) has composed music for over 40 short,feature, and documentary films. He began his musical journey with study at the Music Conservatory in Karlsruhe, Germany. He was awarded a national grant to conduct research on the perception of film music. A full scholarship from Rotary International launched his professional career abroad where he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston prior to coming to NYU Steinhardt as a master’s student in Music Composition.

He recently worked for Aaron Zigman on Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, starring Dustin Hoffmann and Natalie Portman, and Sex and the City: the Movie. An avid supporter of independent filmmaking, Patrick's most recent feature Sweet Thing was accepted into the Seattle film festival in 2008. In addition, he scored the short film Have You Ever Heard About Vukovar? which was screened at both the Aspen and Tribeca film festivals.

Patrick serves on the music composition faculty of USC's Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television Department.

Rudi Joran (M.A. '88, Music Composition) is Director of Computer Music at University of Oslo, Norway. His work is involved in computer approaches to composition, video and multimedia. He has established a network in Norway which links activities and studies in music, acoustics, and technology. He has established music studios and provided a service on the Web known as NoTam (Norwegian network for Technology, Acoustics and Music). (E-mail can be sent to: notam@@notam.uio.no ) An attractive brochure in English has been published by the center (cover of brochure for Notam is at the right). NoTam provides information on the use of technology in the teaching and creation of music to the entire music community of Norway, and now, to the world through the internet.

Joe Iconis (B.M. Music Composition, 2003) is the recipient of a 2007 Ed Kleban Award and a 2006 Jonathan Larson Award. His rock musical, THE BLACK SUITS (for which Joe wrote music, lyrics, and co-wrote the book with Robert Maddock) opened at the MCC Theater in May 2008, under the direction of Trip Cullman. With lyricist Robert Maddock, Joe has collaborated on PLASTIC! The Musical (which won the 2006 Daryl Roth Award and was presented in 2007 at the York Theater) and TRIUMPHANT BABY! (which won the 2007 Backstage Bistro Award and 2007 Nightlife Award). The latter is a performance piece starring Lorinda Lisitza and directed by Brad Oscar.

Under the direction of NYU faculty member, John Simpkins, THINGS TO RUIN, a musical theater rock concert of Joe's compositions as a composer/lyricist, has played to sold-out crowds at Ars Nova, NYMF, and Joe's Pub.

Albert Glinsky (Ph.D. Music Composition 1992) has received performances of his music in such settings as Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the Aspen Music Festival, Wolff Trapp, and throughout Europe and the Far East. His music has been performed by such diverse groups as the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Joffrey II Company, the Boys Choir of Harlem, Les Grandes Balletes Canadiennes, the Cavani Quartet, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, Relache, and numerous others. Among his many honors are awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Smithsonian Institution, the Jerome Foundation, the New York and Pennsylvania State Councils on the Arts, and the Astral Foundation. His music is recorded on the BMG Catalyst, Centaur, RCA Red Seal, Koch International Classics, and Leonore labels, and is published by C.F. Peters, E. C. Schirmer, Hinshaw Press, and MusiShare, Recent works include his Allegheny Quartet, commissioned for the Biava Quartet by the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society in honor of the 250th anniversary of the city of Pittsburgh, and Sun Chanter, commissioned by the Erie Philharmonic in commemoration of the orchestra's 100th anniversary, scheduled to be premiered on November 9, 2013.

Albert Glinsky is the author of Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage, published by the University of Illinois Press, with a foreword by Robert Moog, which received the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award in 2001 and garnered worldwide press acclaim. In connection with Theremin, Glinsky has appeared on the Discovery Channel, the A&E Network, various National Public Radio programs, and on Canada's CBC network and England's BBC Radio. Recently he was featured on episodes of the PBS show History Detectives and the Science Channel show Dark Matters. Currently he is at work on the authorized biography of synthesizer pioneer, Bob Moog. Glinsky appeared on CBS Sunday Morning on October 29, 2013, as part of an exposé on Theremin and Moog (both the men and their iconic electronic instruments). Reflecting Glinsky's research and publications, the show highlighted the breadth of musical and cultural impact that both men exerted.

Glinsky has served on the faculty of Montclair State University, and was BMI Composer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University. Currently he is a research fellow and Professor of Music at Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania.

Albert Glinsky studied composition principally with Joan Tower and David Diamond, and prior to receiving his Ph.D. from NYU Steinhardt, he earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Lawrence Berkowitz started playing guitar at the age of 11. He only put it down years later when he discovered the infinite possibilities of computer music. Lawrence studied Music Composition at NYU Steinhardt, composing primarily with Ableton Live and MAX/MSP. He studied with celebrated Argentinian composer Ezequiel Viñao, Lawrence has developed a rich melodic and rhythmic sensibility, expressed through his signature production style. Lawrence releases music as "Lawrence Grey" on Los Angeles based label Proximal Records. He has performed at venues including The Echo, The El Rey, The Henry Fonda, The Roxy and several others.

Since graduating, Lawrence has been pursuing one of his other passions: teaching. Working with children in Los Angeles since his early teens, Lawrence has developed a program at an organization called Creative Space where he teaches children about electronic music through making tracks with them. Returning to Los Angeles after graduation, Lawrence has continued the work that he started. Currently, Lawrence is working with at- risk youth at the Center for Community Alternatives, teaching them how to make beats. Making music with kids during the day and working in his studio at night, Lawrence is able to continue his obsessive music making.

Molly also music directed the first post-Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown’s 13. She was the assistant to the composer for the Broadway production of A Tale of Two Cities, and the music associate for The Scottsboro Boys, Johnny Baseball, and Anything Goes. Molly was the inaugural recipient of ASCAP’s Cy Coleman Award, and was a pianist on Celebrity Cruise Lines.

Wendy Luck, flutist, vocalist, composer/improviser, received an MA in Composition/Performance/ Multimedia from NYU and a BFA with Honors in Flute Performance from the University of Wisconsin. Her earlier incarnation included orchestra and chamber music performing in New York (Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall), the Rome Festival Orchestra in Italy, the Aspen Music festival, studying flute at the Conservatory in Nice, France with J.P.Rampal, and composing music. Other significant flute teachers were: Julius Baker, Sam Baron, Ransom Wilson, Alain Marion, Tom Nyfenger, and Harvey Estrin.

Her interest in jazz led to venues in New York including a four year engagement as lead vocalist/flutist with the Rainbow Room Big Band, while continuing to perform with Latin ensemble Southern Exposure. Performances include appearances at Windows on the World, The Waldorf Astoria, The Knitting Factory, Roulette, the Kitchen, Cornelia Street Cafe and many other clubs in Manhattan.Performances also include the Tropicana, Resorts International, and Caesar’s in Atlantic City as the opening act for David Brenner, Dr. Ruth, and Julio Iglesis, and others.

She has had experience working and recording with jazz avant garde greats that include Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Oliver Lake, Marion Brown, Ed Blackwell, Dave Holland, Karl Berger, Wallace Roney, Anthony Braxton, Bob Moses, Jack DeJohnette, Sam Rivers, and Tyrone Brown. A series of concerts featuring her music with Allen Ginsberg reading his poetry, took place at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

Luck has appeared in theater, and on television and radio. She has also performed regularly at New York’s comedy clubs, The Improv, Catch a Rising Star, The Comic Strip, and Dangerfield’s, combining music and comedy. As an eight year member of the zany, all female, musical comedy group The Outcasts, she performed the NYC comedy club circuit on a regular basis.

Luck, internationally recognized flutist, vocalist, and composer, has concertized in Italy, Poland, Germany, Budapest, Morocco, Portugal, Greece, Egypt, and Israel. Performing with the 20th/21st Century New York Composers Ensemble led by Dinu Ghezzo, the group has premiered many original works including Songs of Sorrow/Songs of Hope, dedicated to the events of 9/11. Ms. Luck has also worked with the New Music groups Mad Coyote, created by Jerome Kitzke, Carmen Moore’s Sky Music Ensemble, as well as participating as co-creator with Jerome Kitzke of the improvisation duo Breath and Bone.

Ms. Luck has released two CDs of her own original music. The Ancient Key was recorded inside the Great Pyramid, and The Ancient Journey, recorded in the temples along the Nile. In performance, she utilizes the uniquely edited video footage taken during her experience in Egypt. This unusual performance piece integrates her playing live with the footage, creating a multidimensional musical experience. She has most recently been asked by the Egyptian Embassy to become a “Music Ambassador of Peace,” performing her music at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

Michael J. Vince is a composer and performer currently residing in New York City. To date, he has composed works for instrumental ensembles, chorus, short film, and voice. His most recent undertakings include producing the Live 45 Concert Series and working with David Jackson of Big-Little Comedy on a new musical.

Michael’s compositions have frequently explored dramatic topics, whether through direct theatrical productions or programmatic instrumental works. A main focus in his writing has also been to incorporate lyrical expression through contemporary score notation. His Atomic Quartet, a piece that uses graphics to encourage musical interaction among the performers, was premiered by the JACK Quartet in the spring of 2014. In contrast, his Sonata for ‘Cello in C Minor follows a more traditional approach to writing for solo instrument while still incorporating contemporary aesthetics. ‘Cellist Luis Mercado premiered this work at Spectrum NYC in February 2015.

Michael recently earned his Master of Music degree in Theory and Music Composition from New York University, studying with composers Herschel Garfein and Joan La Barbara. In 2012, Michael completed the undergraduate composition sequence as a student-at-large at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois. In addition, he previously acquired his Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance at The University of Mount Union (formerly Mount Union College) in Alliance, Ohio, studying composition and theory independently with Dr. James Perone.

During his time in New York City, Michael has enjoyed his studies and artistic experiences. He continuously seeks out new challenges and opportunities to collaborate with fellow musicians and peers.

Originally from Danbury, CT, Paul Frucht is an emerging American composer whose music has been hailed for its “sense of lyricism, driving pulse, and great urgency” (WQXR). His music has recently been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, the Juilliard Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Weill-Cornell Music and Medicine Orchestra, the Chelsea Symphony, American Modern Ensemble, Ensemble dal Niente, the Les Deux Violin Duo, and the LONGLEASH Trio, and at the New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute, the Utah Arts Festival, and the pianoSonoma Music Festival, where he was composer-in-residence from 2014-2015. Highlights of 2016 include a world premiere of a new work for cellist Julian Schwarz and pianist Marika Bournaki at Barge Music, commissions from the Resonant Grounds Initiative, the Kyoto International Music Festival in Japan, the Ridgefield Symphony, and the premiere of his orchestral work, Dawn, by the American Composers Orchestra on their 25th annual Underwood New Music Readings, for which he won the Audience Choice Award. This summer, Paul will return as the artistic director of the Danbury Chamber Music Intensive, a music festival Paul launched in 2015 in his hometown of Danbury, CT, that champions the work of Danbury native Charles Ives as well as today’s living American composers.

Paul is the recipient of numerous honors and awards in composition. In the spring of 2015, Paul was awarded a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is also the recipient of three of the most prestigious prizes awarded to composition students by the Juilliard School: the Gena Raps Chamber Music Prize, the Arthur Friedman Award for outstanding orchestral composition, and the Palmer Dixon Prize for the most outstanding work by a student composer in an academic year. He has also received recognition from Periapsis Music and Dance, the American Modern Ensemble, the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, and the American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot program. He is the recipient of several scholarships from the Juilliard School, including the C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellowship, the Arlene J. Smith Scholarship, and the Marvin Hamlisch Scholarship in Composition.

In 2013, Paul graduated with Master of Music Degree in Composition from the Juilliard School, where he is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate. In 2011, he graduated Magna Cum Laude, earning a bachelor of music degree in Music Theory and Composition, from New York University’s Steinhardt School. His principal teachers have been Robert Beaser and Justin Dello Joio.

After graduating with a degree in Music Composition from New York University, James Dooley moved to Los Angeles to study film composition with such prolific composers as Christopher Young, Elmer Bernstein and Leonard Rosenman.

Dooley has also composed scores for several short films, including the Sundance Film Festival selection, Bit Players, the award-winning short films Untitled: 003 Embryo and Agua Dulce, as well as the cutting-edge short film Things Fall Apart for director Yaniv Raz. Dooley has also scored the widely acclaimed documentary, Rebels of Oakland, for HBO. This project was the highest rated sports documentary for HBO since the year 2000.

In the video game arena, James scored the 2004 sequel to the smash hit from Namco, Dead to Rights 2, as well as the Sony Playstation flagship game, SOCOM III: U.S. Navy SEALs, using a live orchestra recorded in London.

James has just finished work on Impy's Island, a German computer animated film whose orchestral score was recorded in Bratislava, as well as the thrilling Screen Gems remake of When A Stranger Calls, which was recorded in Seattle with the Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra.

Currently James is working with Hans Zimmer on The Da Vinci Code, for award-winning director Ron Howard.